April 2013

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

:: Sometimes one must have a sense of humor about the weather. One must understand that as King Winter and Lady Spring have their last tug of war all you can do is embrace it. Put on your snow boots one day and your flip flops the next. Squish around in rain boots. Watch the water drip off snow clothes by the fire. More than anything keep an inward giggle that soon all this water will bring spring flowers...hopefully.

:: Sometimes one must take your daughter to the premiere of the Sense and Sensibility Musical because really, Jane Austen rules. One must enjoy a delicious french Croque Monsieur and drink Perrier. One must listen to amazing singers tell a fabulous story and then give advice to your daughter, after the show, about how to enter the world of musicals. Then one must revel in that cool, cool day.

:: Sometimes one must organize despite the weather outside. One must go through thousands of photos and wonder what in the world to do with them all. One must wonder many times, "where did all this stuff come from"? Sometimes one then realizes that there may need to be an entire post on this later.

:: Sometimes one must apply their Crossfit motto of "Don't think just do it" to writing for an excellent magazine. One must sit and push through the moment when fingers hover over the keys and nothing, I repeat NOTHING, comes to mind. Then one must sometimes put the computer away and be grateful when the whole idea comes pouring forth mid-tooth brushing. Sometimes that's the way it goes with writing.

:: Sometimes one must realize that they are literally never going to blog again unless they can use Instagram photos once in awhile or everyday. It may not be what one would ultimately want but it seems better than total radio silence. Sometimes it's necessary to re-evaluate all the boundaries we trap ourselves in and have more fun.

:: Sometimes one must know that life if full. Interesting. Exciting. Worth being here for. Sometimes, one must embrace the current moment and dance with the winds of change.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

It's April and there's snow falling outside. It started again yesterday and, more than likely, plans on continuing into tomorrow. As grateful as I am for the moisture it seems to be wreaking havoc with my "Spring" ideas. The "clean up and clear out" part of this season seems a distant thought. Crawling into a warm, fur-lined nook by the fire with a good book sounds better. Much better.

As a distraction, on this otherwise non-spring day, I thought I'd give you an update on the fire cider we started a few months back. The big daddy loved the whole idea of this recipe and the uses for this magical stuff. Or was it the super spicy stuff he got to put in it? He will never say, though I have my suspicions.

This fire cider may very well be magic. It seems to prevent and cure all. This wet, cold, snowy season of Spring seems the perfect time to have our first batch ready to test. Yes, we have started other batches as it takes a good four to eight weeks to brew. This past weekend was the first sampling. I'll admit, I was scared. How spicy would it be? Would I be able to take it and still convince my children to try it even if I'm hopping around the kitchen on fire? What in the world would it taste like?

Well, it's good! Spicy. Vinegar-y. A burn in your throat kind of wonderful. Similar to Kombucha only with a kick. We love it. At least the two oldest and the two youngest do. My five year old asked, "if he would be able to breathe fire afterwards"? Um,(parental decision moment)....absolutely! I felt like I was breathing fire, so why not? We have since re-named it affectionately "Dragon Fire".

If you are strong of heart and up for a challenge I suggest you put together some of this concoction. There are many ways to make it your own. More spicy. Less spicy. Amanda added honey, cayenne, and turmeric to different batches that they made. I suppose anything that sounds good to you would work...maybe not chocolate.

Tuesday, April 09, 2013

A foot of snow sits outside as I write this. The windshield wiper, just on the drivers side, was broken when we went to sweep snow off the car this morning. Yet, I feel the promise of Spring in the air. Throw open the windows, feel the fresh breeze waft through kind of promise.

I've been catching up on a few of my favorite blogs since returning home. The theme...change. It's out there. It's being felt in so many ways. Resulting in many thoughts and epiphanies. Many feelings of over-whelm. Change. I feel it. I welcome it. I've felt limited. Limited by myself. Limited by how I've set things up.

We had an amazing trip over Spring Break. One that you look forward to and plan and think about for months ahead. The trip very much apart of our dinner conversations and chats over lattes in the morning. A trip to celebrate the big daddy and a big birthday happening this summer. Though, I felt unable to share it here. For the sake of boundaries. For the sake of feeling unsure how I felt about others knowing. limited.

The photographs I take for the blog are just that..."blog photos". I recently went through my library and realized that so many photographs of my children are half a face, no head, from above kind of photos. Not a lot of "real" photos of my children. For someone that has an interest in photography I found that mildly disturbing. In fact, so disturbing that over Spring Break I took only photos that showed my children's faces. Their personalities. Who they are today. Faces I want to remember.

So, I'm noticing these things. And, I'm no longer okay with them.

This past July my littlest turned two. Two. I panicked. Mostly because I have spent a good part of my children's youth being pregnant, tired, nursing, over-weight, and not fast enough to keep up with them. The day after my girls birthday I began researching. I've changed the way I eat. In October, the big daddy joined me, to help make it easier, as well as he saw the results in me. In November, my super-fit sister in law came for a visit over Thanksgiving. I researched Crossfit gyms for her to attend while she was here. It turned out that they happened to have an introduction class a few days after she left. I decided to go, just to see. I thought it would be too intense, as most outsiders think. It was hard. It challenged me. I came home and told the big daddy, "I LOVE it!" There it was. My place. After all this time. I now call myself a "cross-fitter". Though I've never even mentioned it here. A big part of me.

Do you see where I'm going with this? How many places do we limit ourselves? How often do we alter who we are to fit into certain parameters? How many times are we not honest with ourselves and what we want?

This blog, Enchantedmama, I started over four years ago to bring more creativity into my life. A way to provide more tangible results. Then, it shifted ever so slightly to document our stories as a family. A way to look back and remember things I would have forgotten in the blur of pregnancy and exhaustion. Now? Well, that's what I'm working on. I've felt a bit stalled here. Limited in what I can share here. I toyed with the idea of changing it completely. Moving to another site. Another name. Another focus. I've realized though that it has everything to do with me. I'm the change that needs to happen. Not the font, or colors. Though, I will more than likely do that too! Moving would just be delaying what really needs the shift. Me.

With the theme of change circulating "out there" this spring my version will involve looking into those places where I limit myself.

I want to bring more here. I want to show you what inspires me. I want to know what inspires you. I would like to have this blog change along with the seasons. Movement. Freedom. Change.

I want to notice this Spring. I want to look it in the eye and say, "Yes!".

Birds have always symbolized change in my life. Even as a young child. Today, as I write this post by the window, latte in hand, there are over thirty Robin Red Breast birds in my snowy yard. My little two year old kept saying, "Birds. Birds outside." "uh-huh." I would oblige between sentences. "No, mama birds!" "Okay, sweetie pie." She grabs my hand, "Come now. Birds!!!" Roused from my writing I walk over to the window and see a festival, a gathering of over thirty birds. "Birds!!!" I yell. She smiles.

They are still there. Ruffling their feathers and looking positively fluffy. Like a big warm winter coat. So simple yet so telling. If birds mean change. And, I'm writing about change. And, there are over thirty birds outside right now...that has to mean something right?!!???!

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